Chapter 223: Tier 3
Geth looked at the two women chatting merrily before him. He was stunned by how calm the two were being.
Sindri may not have known that Zolis had died, thinking that she was just heavily injured, but there was no way Zolis didn't know.
Those were his thoughts. He really didn't know what she had experienced.
"What?" Zolis turned toward him after feeling his gaze for so long. She was shocked to see so much worry in his eyes.
She felt her cheeks flush, something that hadn't happened often since they first started dating.
"I just don't know what I would do if I were to lose you."
Geth grabbed both of her hands into his and pulled her to him again, kissing her deeply.
He didn't want to let go, but he still hadn't taken the time to check his surroundings. There were also the changes in himself that needed to be looked over...
'One thing at a time.'
He reluctantly let go of Zolis and spread his senses around the room. Geth was astonished to see how far his range had increased.
Even the floor above was vaguely visible to him. He was relieved to see Jack, Peter, and Rift were back on their feet, though still a bit unstable.
He turned his attention toward the room they were in.
Geth recognized many of the chains they had seen above wrapped around the nearby pillar. Three sets of chains were running parallel into a nearby tunnel.
His senses couldn't quite make it to the center.
"We should wait for the others before proce-"
Before Geth could finish his statement, Kane forced himself out of Geth's mental sphere and took off down the hallway.
*Sigh*
"What is it now? You two head back up and tell the others to hurry up. I'll follow him."
He looked back at the two women with some unwillingness. Zolis rolled her eyes.
"Just go. We can handle walking up to the next floor just fine. If we stay in touch through our Resonance, there's no need to worry."
"Ehh, sure."
Geth would prefer to use that connection sparingly until he figured out what had happened to him. What if that aura somehow used it to take over Zolis or Sindri?
He cast Mass Invocation, increasing his Agility and Wisdom, and sprinted after Kane.
'Why would he run off like that?'
There had been a moment of apprehension, and then Kane was gone. Geth hadn't even had a chance to call out to him.
'Albus, how did he manage to summon himself?'
'Easy, not only is he around the same Level, but he is also a higher Tier. Kane is your Tame, but he has certain freedoms that Bane doesn't possess.'
'So what would happen if I had a Tier 7 Tame?'
'Well... let's just say that you would be the one on a leash.'
'I see...'
Albus settled back near the center of Geth's mental sphere and spread his senses once again. He was troubled by the changes that Geth had gone through.
"This is just... Why would the Demons want him to advance Tiers?"
Albus mumbled to himself as he replayed the events since they'd run into Barbas and Draug.
'First the World Boss...'
The World Boss had been mighty. Stronger than almost any creature on the current planet as far as Albus was aware.
At least... that's what he thought. The Direwolf and Ghost Races should be the only Tier 4 creatures here at the moment.
How did the Demons get here? Were they trying to stop them from repairing the timeline? Why make Albus and Geth stronger?
Two and two just wasn't adding up to four.
Albus looked around Geth's three mental spheres. Some of the man's selves were flying around inspecting the interior.
The changes weren't minimal.
Not only did the third mental sphere appear, but his existing two had doubled in size. Geth still hadn't asked to view his Attributes, but Albus was stunned silent.
'He has actually become a Tier 3 existence.'
All of Geth's base Attributes had increased, there were a large number of unused AP available, and a unique Talent appeared that doubled his maximum Mana.
Even the Immersion Formation had grown, increasing its initial 8x recovery to 10x!
Albus understood why Geth had been experiencing so much mental pain and discomfort.
He understood that the orb was a reward from a Bloodline Awakening Trial.
He even understood this explosive increase in power.
'Just what was that strange creature that took over his body?'
Albus stared toward the now open hallway that led to the black sphere. Purple energy would sometimes seep out, but it didn't seem harmful.
There's no way that Barbas could have known, right?
While one held their trial reward, they would feel discomfort slowly build. Their abilities would take a dive, and they would eventually fall unconscious.
While unconscious, the reward would bestow a single Tier's worth of power. This process would repeat until the energy in the orb was utterly used up.
Whatever that creature was, took advantage of Geth's unconscious state. On top of that, it had absorbed the entire reward.
Albus had never heard of something like this, and he wasn't sure what would happen next.
The most he could do was monitor the situation and share as much of his knowledge as possible.
'A Tier 3 Human. Who would have thought?'
Albus continued studying the changes while Geth finally caught up to Kane.
This tunnel hadn't been like the simple tunnels they'd traveled before. This place was a maze.
Luckily, someone else had already done all of the grunt work, and he only had to follow the chains to the center.
The passageway opened into an enormous chamber, no smaller than the Sub-Boss rooms they'd found above.
Geth spotted Kane near the center, lying next to a giant replica of himself before absorbing the fire wolf's inheritance.
The first thing he noticed was the many chains that cut into the wolf's skin.
The second was how ragged its breathing was.